Hello, 1989! The high summer has arrived and the Indycar circus marks the occasion by travelling to a concreted, shadeless, shelterless patch of flat land adjacent to downtown Cleveland. Yes! It’s time for the highlight of all goodhearted people’s racing season, the Grand Prix of Burke Lakefront Airport Grand Prix of Cleveland Grand Prix! But don’t celebrate just yet – we’re not going to watch it till Sunday. Still, time for a recap. Cleveland is round 7, which means that owing to 1989’s old-style (or perhaps 2020-style) calendar, we’re almost halfway through. A strange Portland race (which followed a strange Detroit race, a strange Milwaukee, a dramatic Indy, a dramatic Long Beach and a straightforward Phoenix) saw Emerson Fittipaldi get a third win of the year amid heat, track degradation, burst water mains, random fuel consumption, Otter Pops, big hats and Geoff Brabham’s Penske leaking radiator fluid everywhere. It was that sort of day. The upshot, because there is always an upshot, was that Emmo stretched out his championship lead on his Penske non-teammate, Rick Mears. Al Unser, Jr’s run of rotten results has seen an early points lead after Indy converted into a one-victory-plus deficit on the Brazilian F1 champion. Fourth, fifth and sixth are Michael Andretti, Teo Fabi and Scott Pruett, two of whom are probably reasonably content to be in that company. Plenty of racing to go, but perhaps only a few chances for Rick, Little Al and the gang to stop Fittipaldi turning his advantage into a full-on rout. (Are there any sports where you can literally have a rout? Excluding medieval tournaments I mean.)
Would you like to know a fact? This is/was the last race using the old Cleveland layout. It’s very similar to the post-1989 Cleveland layout but there’s a left-right esses directly after the pits so the drivers take the hairpin at a much wider radius, but presumably at lower speed because they’ve just had the esses. That’s your high-quality analysis of the circuit! The rest is the same. Viewed from the air (appropriately) the layout kinda looks like a racing car. What did I say about high-quality analysis?
What happened in qualifying? Newman-Haas driver Michael Andretti notched his second pole position of the season, putting a comfortable four-tenths of a second on championship leader Emmo and an even more comfortable whole second on the second row. Teo Fabi follows up a pole and fourth at Portland with a fifth and ??? this time around. More details below:
1. Michael Andretti 1:04.636, Newman-Haas (Lola-Chevy)
2. Emerson Fittipaldi +0.392, Patrick (Penske-Chevy)
3. Mario Andretti +1.018, Newman-Haas (Lola-Chevy)
4. Rick Mears +1.020, Penske (Penske-Chevy)
5. Teo Fabi +1.242, Porsche Motorsports (March-Porsche)
6. Arie Luyendyk +1.760, Dick Simon (Lola-Cosworth)
7. Al Unser, Jr +1.767, Galles (Lola-Chevy)
8. Bobby Rahal +1.814, Kraco (Lola-Cosworth)
9. Scott Pruett +1.910, Truesports (Lola-Judd)
10. Derek Daly +1.967, Raynor (Lola-Judd)
11. Didier Theys +2.486, Hemelgarn (Lola-Judd)
12. Raul Boesel +2.729, Doug Shierson (Lola-Judd)
Coogan starts 13th, Weaver 14th, Scott Brayton 17th. Al Unser, Sr starts P16 standing in for Danny Sullivan at Penske, and Roberto Guerrero qualified the March-Alfa in 21st. Jeff Wood makes his first start of the year for Gohr, from 28th and last, 8.8 seconds shy of Michael’s 64.6-second laptime. Anything else? Yes! John Paul, Jr is here. The 1983 Michigan 500 winner has a two-race deal with Bettenhausen starting this race and ending, er, at the next race in New Jersey.
I’m not sure what James Weaver’s been up to since his eventful race in Detroit. Perhaps nothing! He’s clearly done nothing to disrupt his preparations because he’s qualified in exactly the same place he did in Detroit. That’s some solid James Weaver.
Anyway, I’ve got a video for you all below. We’ll start at 6pm UK time on Sunday, 11 April. See you then!
Indycar 1989 Watchparty Round 7 of 15: Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland (Start 6pm BST Sunday)
#1
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Posted 09 April 2021 - 21:51
#4
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Posted 10 April 2021 - 01:39
"Moon over Parma, bring my love to me tonight . . . " 
#5
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Posted 10 April 2021 - 03:10
no track limits on the runways
#6
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Posted 10 April 2021 - 05:53
#7
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Posted 10 April 2021 - 07:53
This made me have a dream last night that Indycar announced a return to Cleveland, but not on the airport. They were planning to use a street circuit nearby. In the dream I came on here and photoshopped a potential super circuit which combined the airport track with the tight street circuit next to it.
#8
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Posted 10 April 2021 - 09:15
Nice! Will tune in on Sunday!
#9
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Posted 10 April 2021 - 13:07
no track limits on the runways
Just the lake!
#10
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Posted 10 April 2021 - 13:18
Just the lake!
Well, you could still have a fairly big one regardless...
#11
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 15:36
Bump: on this day in 1989, there was no F1, no World Sportscar, and Bobby Allison had just won NASCAR's Pepsi 400 at Daytona on the Saturday. The world championship for motorbikes went to Spa for a race that was stopped twice and then called early after intermittent rain showers. (The riders were then tricked into racing an invalid third leg in wet conditions on one of the fastest and most dangerous circuits on the calendar, allegedly by then-promoter B. C. Ecclestone. MotoGP wasn't always a tight ship!)
IMSA's jolly old boys were at Watkins Glen that day for the classy-sounding Camel Continental which is on Youtube in (very) extended highlights form here. Perhaps that's why Geoff Brabham isn't subbing for Sullivan this weekend, as he's piloting the Nissan GTP in a battle with Toyota and Jaguar instead.
#12
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 16:46
#14
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 16:55
#15
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 16:58
#18
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:00
Pruett Fade retrospective!
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#20
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:01
How did that clapping clip not become timeless?
#21
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:01
#23
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:01
Scott Spun? Precursor to Scott Speed?
#24
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:01
Paddle steamer spotted!
#25
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:02
Paul Page and JR are standing very close together. That's 4:3 for you I suppose.
#26
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:03
Paul getting very close to Johnny
#27
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:03
I think that was awkward social distance even in 1989 between Paul and Rutherford.
#28
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:04
Jack Arute points to "the younger Andretti right here", but Michael is in fact totally obscured by a Newman-Haas crew member's behind. Lol.
#29
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:04
#30
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:04
#31
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:04
"Gearboxes, CV joints, half shafts, all the suspension parts," says Gary Gerould, promising mechanical carnage
#32
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:04
love the guy in the white hat behind Gary!
Edited by GlenWatkins, 11 April 2021 - 17:05.
#33
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:05
Good shouting from Mr PPG!
#34
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:05
#35
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:05
Excellent command, one must say.
I bet PPG was a noisy office back then
#37
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:07
"Raul Boesel, who we expect a lot from today"
Paul Page randomly piling the pressure on Boesel!
#38
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:07
Bobby Rahal, with a face only a Mother could love!
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#40
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:07
The lack of biographical detail as they get down the grid is increasingly obvious. Randy Lewis literally just got "Randy Lewis" as his intro.
#41
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:08
Bobby Rahal, with a face only a Mother could love!
Dadcore
That said, I like his raffish moustage.
#42
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:09
How come pretty much everyone looked older in 1980ies than they did in 1990ies?
#43
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:09
Green! Mikey leads.
#44
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:10
First laps aren't quite as insane with the esses at the start, instead of piling in seven-wide into the first hairpin.
#45
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:11
#46
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:11
I just love the cars of this era
#47
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:11
In 1989 the dominant Cleveland Talking Point still seems to be "everyone will break down" instead of "crazy passing madness".
#48
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:13
I have someone turned up the mic in the booth before the end of the race.
#49
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:13
In 1989 the dominant Cleveland Talking Point still seems to be "everyone will break down" instead of "crazy passing madness".
In 1989 the dominant Cleveland Talking Point still seems to be "everyone will break down" instead of "crazy passing madness".
It's those darn computers . . .
#50
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Posted 11 April 2021 - 17:13
Al Junior is on the move! Passing Rahal and Arie on successive laps.
